Becoming Ninja
by adisturbance22
Summary: Using an under appreciated rule in the academy the Sandaime finds help for Naruto.  Follow Naruto as he is guided towards his dream and becomes the ninja needed for the trials ahead. No Slash, Pairings Undecided.
1. Chapter 1

Hokage Mandate #451  
><em>In the spirit of passing on wisdom from generation to generation, from henceforth each candidate for Genin in the Konoha Ninja Academy shall be assigned a retired Shinobi as a guide for their final year. The duty of delegation shall be performed by the office of the Hokage.<em>

Yondaime Hokage  
>Namikaze Minato<p>

Chapter 1

The Sandaime took a long drag from his pipe as he read the year end report from last year's academy. They had only managed two successful teams of Genin and his personal favorite Nin in training had failed his Graduation Exam.

_Uzumaki Naruto:  
>My recommendation would be to flush this child out of the program altogether for poor performance, lack of respect, absence, and numerous other reasons. As he is not eligible for removal for another year I urge patient endurance to his future instructors.<em>

Sarutobi sighed putting aside that report wishing there was something to be done for his favorite blond shinobi in training. His musing was quickly interrupted by his secretary.

"Hokage sir." She imposed rather rudely. 'Probably upset with all the paperwork I have been ignoring' mused the elder.

"Yes Wendy?"

"Sir it is time to assign retired advisers to this year's Genin candidates.". That brought a smile to Sarutobi's face he remembered the events leading up to the Yondaime making that mandate.

The Yondaime had lost exactly one fight during his tenure as Hokage. It was a private spar against Sarutobi himself. The Sandaime chuckled at the memory of the man's stunned look after the defeat. Minato had made the mandate that same day that Genin candidates would be assigned retired shinobi as advisers during their final year in academy. 'It really is a fantastic idea,' the robed man thought.

You didn't often become an old ninja by chance it took a lot of skill and wisdom to grow old in their dangerous profession.

As Sarutobi's musing moved further he shook his head sadly, while it was a wonderful idea it had yet to ever really take hold In the tradition of training shinobi in Konoha. Either the retired shinobi was to lazy and ignored the student or the student ignored the adviser. As such there were few success stories.

The Hokage leaned back into his chair and looked out his window at the village he loved. People whizzing about their business. He took another long drag of his pipe as he pondered the dilemma. With a start he jumped out of his chair red and white robes whipping around him.

"That is it!" He shouted with gusto, before clearing his throat as he remembered exactly where he was. He turned around and chuckled nervously at Wendy, her jaw hanging wide open her eyes wide.

"Wendy?". He asked slowly. She jumped as if struck and a red flush quickly covered her face.

"Yes sir?" she nearly yelled. Sarutobi smiled.

"Please call for Ryu Hatsumi.". His secretary nodded silently and quickly left the room. The leader of Konoha settled back into his chair to muse over his plan while he waited. Not five minutes later a cloaked figure stepped almost silently into his office.

"You called Sandaime sir?". The man said in a soft tone. Sarutobi looked him in the eye from under his wide brimmed hat for a long moment.

"I need to talk to you about Uzumaki Naruto."

(break)

Naruto was feeling pretty down it was the end of his first day of classes and he could already tell that his teachers did not like him. Mizuki had yelled at him for nothing almost all day, and Iruka had been super strict.

The musing blonde was slowly trudging through Konoha's market district ignoring glares from the owners of various shops. He was only broken out of his reverie by a stern voice coming from right behind.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto jumped forward and turned around due to being snuck up on. As he turned he took in the sight of the owner of the stern voice. It was an older man, probably the same age as Jiji, wearing a knee length gray cloak. He had piercing brown eyes and a serious look on his face.

"What do you want old man?" the nin in training shouted, spooked over being snuck up on. The man frowned at the lack of respect.

"My name is Ryu Hatsumi I am your adviser for your final year as an academy student as assigned by the Hokage, follow me." With a swish of his cloak Hatsumi turned around and began to walk away. Naruto paused as he processed the information, was an adviser like a teacher? If the Old Man had assigned him then he must be okay. With that Naruto took off after him.

"Old man wait up!" The man merely shook his head and kept walking as Naruto fell into step with him. "Er, what does an adviser do?". Hatsumi took a quick look at his young charge.

"I have been tasked with having a hand in guiding your development as a Ninja. As a retired shinobi I will be giving you advice that you may choose whether or not to follow.".

"You are retired? You must be super old! Even Old Man Hokage is still going!". Hatsumi fought to keep a grimace from his face. Before bopping the kid on the head.

"Learn some respect for your elders," Ryu growled as Naruto rubbed his head. "We will be meeting once every three days right here." They had arrived in training ground fifteen which was a small clearing surrounded by rather dense forest. "Every time we meet I will evaluate you and offer some direction."

"Ryu sensei are you going to teach me ultimate butt kicking jutsu?" Naruto asked eyes wide with excitement, he could not wait! Hatsumi shook his head and paused a moment before responding.

"No, that happens later this will be far more important. Every time we meet I will offer you four pieces of advice." Grabbing a stick Hatsumi wrote the word "tenacity" in the dirt.

"The first piece of advice will be about important traits you will need to foster in order to become a great Ninja.". Hatsumi stopped as Naruto got a strange look. "Yes?"

"Are you really going to help me become a Ninja?" Naruto asked the question almost shyly. Hatsumi took careful note of the emphasis Naruto put on the word "help", as if the boy couldn't believe someone would help him.

"Yes Naruto I will help you, but you must listen." The boy's posture relaxed entirely and the retired ninja could tell he was listening intently. Pointing at the word he had written in the dirt Hatsumi restarted his lesson. "Tenacity is one of the most traits a shinobi can possess. Having tenacity means that you will never quit, whether your are training or on a mission or defending your village you will never quit. My first piece of advice is to learn to be tenacious, never quit." Naruto stared wide-eyed at the man with short graying hair.

"I can do that Ryu sensei." The cloaked shinobi nodded before holding up three fingers.

"There are three foundations of the ninja lifestyle, these are: combat, espionage, and subterfuge. Everything that a shinobi does fits into one or more of these areas. Every time we meet I will offer you advice regarding improvement in each area. Now to begin I want you to attack me." The blonde academy student looked completely confused. Hatsumi raised his voice, "Attack me!" Breaking out of his stupor, Naruto rushed forward.

Ryu jumped back as Naruto rushed forward and lashed out with a kick. Naruto jumped up in the air moving straight ahead toward Hatsumi rearing a punch back. As Naruto threw his punch it seemed as if the retired ninja simply glided right around it which sent an over balanced Naruto crashing into a heap on the ground. Naruto was up in an instant, but Hatsumi had a hand up.

"Wait, now I want you to defend." Naruto nodded his head with a determined set to his jaw. He stood tall with his arms crossed in front of him. Hatsumi frowned before stepping forward with a sweeping kick that took Naruto's legs out from under him.

"Alright that is it, now I am going to teach you a basic stance from which you will practice punches and kicks." Naruto stood quickly and dusted himself off.

"Ryu sensei, I sucked," he said dejectedly. Hatsumi looked the boy over for a moment.

"No you are inexperienced and under trained, now pay attention. Begin with your right foot about a foot and a half in front of your left pointing straight forward. Your left foot should be perpendicular with your right." Naruto nearly fell over trying to do that. "Naruto not parallel, your foot should be at a right angle to your front foot... Excellent. This is a basic attacking stance of the academy style." Naruto frowned while looking at his feet. Hatsumi drew a line in the dirt with his stick and instructed Naruto to stand over it. "What I am going to do is tell you right or left foot forward, and I want you to move into your stance one foot on each side of the line." Naruto nodded in confirmation and took his place over the line

After several minutes Hatsumi nodded in satisfaction. "Now Naruto I will show you how to perform a simple punch. With your right foot forward use your right hand. Start with your thumb up and punch forward slowly, shift your weight onto your front foot, rotate your hips, and push into the punch with your back foot." Naruto did so slowly and Hatsumi took time to correct him. After showing him how to do a basic snap kick, Hatsumi laid out his instruction.

"This is what you should work on for combat, your stance, punches, and kicks. Begin slowly and make sure you have the movement down and then speed up." Naruto smiled wide with excitement. "Next we will talk about espionage. This is the the act of gathering resources or sharing false resources, and example might be information or even weapons. This is critical to the work of a shinobi. Good information for example can change the course of a war, or battle. My advice is simple." Hatsumi pulled a notebook and pen from inside his cloak and handed them to Naruto. "I want you to fill at least a page of information on each of your classmates."

"What? Why would I want to do something like that," Naruto yelled while waving his arms. Hatsumi just shook his head.

"You need to learn how to gather information about other ninja and the best way to do that is to practice on your classmates. Imagine if you were fighting a ninja and had no idea that he was a master in kenjutsu and you decided to attack hand to hand with a kunai you would probably end up injured or dead. Knowing that information before the fight could save your life." Naruto's eyes went wide and he wisely stayed quiet and tucked the notebook into his weapons pouch.

"Finally subterfuge, this will be the easiest for you I believe. My advice is simple continue to pull the pranks you are famous for." Naruto began to jump around with excitement, pranks were now training! "But I want you to not get caught anymore, that means you need to learn to be sneakier or more subtle with your pranks. Try to pull one prank without getting caught for it." Naruto nodded as evil shopkeepers began to flash through his twisted little mind. With that said Ryu Hatsumi turned and began to walk away. "Be here in three days right after you get done with the academy."

Naruto smiled happily and whispered almost inaudibly, "Thanks Ryu sensei." With that he got right to work.

(break)

It was the afternoon three days later that Naruto walked into training ground fifteen to find Ryu Hatsumi leaning against a tree, on a sunny day. Naruto smiled and waved at Ryu and ran to meet him.

"Good afternoon Naruto, may I see your notebook?" Naruto's smile slipped off his face and his head dropped. "Did you finish your notebook Naruto?" Naruto shook his head only slightly. Hatsumi responded, "Try again, practice everything I told you last time, I will see you in three days." Naruto turned without a word and began to walk home. Hatsumi called out after him, "Remember Naruto a great ninja is tenacious, a great ninja never gives up."

(break)

"Acceptable." Naruto whooped for joy as Ryu sensei approved his notebook, his pranking, and his taijutsu.

"Now are you going to teach me some ultimate jutsu that will allow me to become Hokage?" Naruto asked as he bounced around the clearing. Hatsumi simply shook his head and motioned for Naruto to sit.

"The trait I want to discuss with you today is Humility. A ninja must be able to put his or her ego aside. A great ninja is not afraid to ask for help, understands his weaknesses, and always remembers there is someone stronger. To help you learn this important trait I want you to request help from a ninja other than myself before we see each other again." Naruto nodded slowly as he absorbed that information. Training ground fifteen was warm with the sun shining as Ryu continued.

"Combat includes weapons, ninjutsu, genjutsu, offense, defense, and even tactics. The foundation of all combat is taijutsu, everything else flows forth from that; this is why we are focused on taijutsu first. I am going to show you a kata that I want you to work on as slowly as possible to perfect it until we meet again. Naruto could not wait to get started on more as Hatsumi began to move through the slow but graceful form.

**(A/N: I think you all get the picture how Naruto's meetings with Ryu Hatsumi go. For the rest of this picture I will feature a few highlights from training in no particular order. Next chapter will begin with the graduation exam and I will include some more advice from Ryu.)**

Naruto was stretching proudly in the midst of training ground fifteen waiting the arrival of Ryu sensei. Things had been going great since the old man had begun giving him advice. Naruto's taijutsu was now near the top of his class and his weapon skills were quickly improving as well. As for subterfuge he hadn't been caught pranking in months and he had notebooks full of information from all of the espionage he had been doing. Naruto looked sour though as he considered his problems with the three academy ninjutsu.

"What seems to be the problem Naruto?" a voice interrupted his thinking. Turning around quickly Naruto saw Ryu standing calmly in the middle of the clearing like he had been there all along, 'He probably has been these old guys are so sneaky!'.

"Ryu sensei, I have been learning a lot from you and have been doing better, but I can't graduate if I cannot perform the academy ninjutsu," there was a panic in the blonde ninja's voice as he talked. Ryu paused a moment before plucking a leaf off of a nearby tree and placing it on his forehead where, to Naruto's shock, it stuck.

"What do you no about the Leaf Exercise Naruto?"

"How did you do that sensei?" he shouted.

"It is a simple chakra exercise that will greatly assist your performance of ninjutsu. Now this is how you will start..."

(break)

Ryu almost chuckled as he snuck up on Naruto for the hundredth time. He had a small surprise for the boy today that he was sure would do Naruto a lot of good. He tapped him on the shoulder and just as Naruto began to turn around he lept into the air, somersaulting over the boys head and landed facing the boys now turned back.

"What are you looking for Naruto?" With a yell the young ninja jumped back hand over his heart and breathing rapidly.

"Don't do that you crazy old man! Are you trying to scare me to death?" he shouted heatedly. Ryu ignored him and tossed a gray bundle to the boy that he easily caught.

"What is this?" Naruto unfurled the bundle to find that it was a dark gray cloak exactly like the one that Ryu himself wore fitted for Naruto's size. "A cloak? Is this for me sensei?" Ryu smiled briefly and nodded his head. With a holler Naruto through it over his head to try it on, it fell to the middle of his calves and hung over his shoulders to obscure most of his body. **(A/N: Think gray hunter nin's cloak.)**

"This is another tool for you to use Naruto. It will work great to help with stealth, in fact with your orange jump suit underneath it will work much like a tiger's fur. It is also excellent for disguising moves during a fight, you can use your hand seal's underneath the cloak so that no one can see what jutsu you are using. You can also conceal what weapons or tools you are carrying out preparing during a fight. It will also take a moment longer for someone to identify what type of move you are about to perform during a taijutsu spar." Naruto had his serious learning face on as he listened intently. "I am not sure how long it will fit you since you have been growing quite a bit due to your new diet, but come and see me whenever it starts feeling small and I will get you a new one."

In a flash Ryu was tackled by an orange and gray blur that was shouting thank you at the top of it's lungs. The old man allowed a smile to grace his severe features.

(break)

Naruto it is time to add another tool to your combat arsenal. You are quite proficient with kunai and shuriken but while you master those I want you to begin studying the ninjato.". With that Hatsumi brandished a short 24 inch katana from within his robes. The handle was a simple matte black with a round hand guard separating it from the blade. An enthusiastic grin crossed Naruto's face.

"Pay attention Naruto this is important," Hatsumi paused while he waited for Naruto to focus. "There are nine basic angles of attack,". Hatsumi began to demonstrate on a training dummy with swift precise strikes. "Think of the major points on a compass and then finally a direct jab. Now realize there are sword styles you can apply to your skill, but for a beginner like yourself think of the ninjato as an extension of your right hand within your academy taijutsu.".

Naruto nodded and lept to his feet, excited to get started with his new blade work. Then he stopped short, "Er sensei what should I use to practice?" Hatsumi handed his ninjato to the boy.

"I am going to be loaning this blade to you and as such I am expecting you to take excellent care of it,". Naruto nodded eagerly as Ryu showed him how to keep the blade sharp and clean.

(break)

"Gah! That was so close!" Naruto moaned. He was standing in the middle of training ground fifteen surrounded by four clones that looked as healthy as can be. Naruto swept his ninjato through the chakra constructs to clear them out of the way and kicked a rock in frustration. "Just a little less chakra and it will be perfect." Naruto formed the ram seal and concentrated on a trickle less chakra than his last attempt. "Bunshin,".

Immediately there were four (total) identical orange clad cloaked ninja standing in a line with fingers in a ram seal. Naruto gave a loud whoop and gave a mighty leap his cloak sweeping about his shoulders. He stopped short when he heard some light clapping and whipped around to find Ryu Hatsumi leaning up against a tree applauding his success. With a smile Naruto waved with excitement at his sensei.

"Ryu sensei did you see that? I did it, I completed the Bunshin technique now I can graduate and become a ninja!" Naruto shouted with exuberance. Hatsumi smiled as he approached the celebrating boy.

"That was very good Naruto, certainly worthy of a pass on your graduation exam." Naruto nodded proudly to himself. "As a gift for successfully completing your academy ninjutsu I am assigning you a very special mission. This mission will require all of your skill in espionage and subterfuge. In the end it will benefit your combat ability." Hatsumi pulled three scrolls out of his utility pouch and handed them to Naruto.

"Umm sensei, what are these for? They are blank," he said looking through the scrolls. Hatsumi nodded.

"They are blank because you are going to fill them, this is your mission. I want you to learn and record three jutsu from ninja in this village. First I want you to learn a genjutsu, then an defensive jutsu, and finally an offensive jutsu." Naruto was staring at the man blankly.

"How am I supposed to do that?" he demanded.

"You will have to locate a ninja who knows the type of technique you are seeking, then you will have to track them and find out where they are training, or where they keep a scroll of the technique, and finally you will have to record how the jutsu is done and learn it yourself. Simple!" With a puff of smoke Hatsumi disappeared, leaving Naruto staring in disbelief at the spot he had previously been standing.

"I think I need to cut something."

fin

**A/N: Alright that is it for chapter one, let me know what you think. It might be a little raw. Next chapter will be the Genin exam, team formation, and maybe the test. I have decided to stick with the canon team seven, so we will see how that goes. As for romance, there will be some (no slash). No final pairings decided yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Iruka was stunned to say the least. He was sitting at his desk in the Konoha Ninja Academy reviewing this year's records and he could not explain what had happened to Uzumaki Naruto. He had failed the academy last year and had been kicked back into this year's graduating class. According to everything he had done this year he would wash completely out of the ninja training program.

Something had changed. Iruka scratched his head as he looked over the records. Naruto had steadily improved in almost every facet of his training. The boys Taijutsu and weapon scores were near the top of the class. His stealth and information gathering skills were top of the class. Even his tactics and strategy had improved. Iruka almost chuckled if it weren't for the fact that he had less than 30 percent in all his written work he would probably be at the top of his class. Even still Uzumaki Naruto had placed himself in the upper third of his overall class.

"Even today he did not fail to surprise," Iruka mused. Today had been the graduation exam and Naruto had done well.

(flashback)

"Naruto please perform the Henge technique," Iruka requested. With a grin fixed on his face Naruto formed the appropriate seals and transformed into a perfect replica of the teacher himself. As the instructor paced around the image he could find no faults. "Perfect replica Naruto, full marks." The boy gave a fist pump and went to the back of the line.

The next technique was the Bunshin, the blonde nin's Achilles heal as it were. Mizuki gave Naruto terse instructions, "Make exactly three Bunshin clones to pass this portion,". Naruto smirked and formed the ram seal.

"Bunshin," he said confidently. With nary a puff of smoke three more identical Narutos appeared in the room. Mizuki's jaw hit the floor and he began to sputter indignantly, while Naruto just laughed.

"You pass, congratulations Naruto," Iruka said in something of a daze. Naruto jumped in the air with a fist raised.

"Yahoo! That means I am a ninja," he said with joy in his voice. Iruka nodded as he handed the boy his forehead protector. Naruto grabbed it quickly and tied it around his forehead. "Awesome," he said checking out his new gear in the window. "I look like I am ready to kick some ass!" Iruka just shook his head in amusement.

"Alright Naruto go ahead and go back out to your classmates, great job today."

(break)

Naruto was pumped, he couldn't help the grin that was eating up his face as he walked out of the testing room. 'Even though Ryu sensei says that a ninja should not reveal their emotions, sometimes it has to be okay!' he mused. He stepped into the classroom to see his classmates reaction to his success. It was mixed. Naruto had made some friends in this years class, it was easier when he wasn't skipping half of the days of school and punished the other half.

"Nice going Naruto!" Kiba shouted. Naruto waved as he walked up to sit down next to his boisterous friend. Kiba was one of his classmates that he had been sparring for the last few months and they had become good friends in that time. The dog nin was loud and rude, but he was also loyal and gave him a good challenge in spars with his teamwork with Akamaru.

"Thanks Kiba, we are ninja of Konoha now," Naruto said as they high fived. Naruto turned to see the rest of his classmates. He congratulated the rest of his friends: Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and a few others. The blonde could not wait to get his team assignment and get started on the next step of his path towards becoming the Hokage.

It wasn't long before Iruka came into the classroom with a large smile on his face.

"This is the end of our Genin Exam, as well as the end of this year of the Academy. Congratulations to all of you who have passed, you are to report back here tomorrow at 0800 for your team assignments. To those of you who did not pass work hard during this off time and we will see you back here at the Academy next year. I am proud of all of you," Iruka said as he smiled around the room at his class. "You are dismissed, remember you are Ninja of Konohagakure now let the Will of Fire be strong in you." With that the collected tweens gave a cheer and exited the Academy at a high rate of speed.

(break)

There was a crowd of family waiting just outside the Academy, some to congratulate some to console the Genin hopefuls. All of Naruto's friends went straight to their families to celebrate their graduation. Naruto smiled at the sight in a somewhat sad way and began to make his way home. Just as he passed through the gate of the academy grounds a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Where are you headed Uzumaki Naruto?" Naruto turned quickly with a large grin on his face to see the sober face of his gray cloaked sensei, Ryu Hatsumi.

"Ryu sensei, I passed! I am a Genin!" he shouted with pride, he quieted quickly and all of a sudden made a quick bow. "Thank you, I could not have done any of this without all of your help and guidance Ryu sensei." Naruto was a little nervous he wasn't this open very often. Hatsumi paused for a moment, half surprised before a big smile crossed his typically sober face. He bowed in return.

"It has been a privilege to have such a determined and skilled student," he waited while Naruto seemed to preen under his praise. "Now I have come to congratulate you on your graduation, well done." Naruto nodded happily in response. "Naruto as a reward for your latest accomplishment I have two gifts for you." Now Naruto was barely containing his excitement. "First the ninjato that you have been borrowing is now officially yours, your dedication in training and care for it has earned as much. Because you are now a Genin I am allowing you to wear it in public and to use it as you see fit."

"This is so awesome sensei I have been working really hard and even have a blade technique down for it, what is next," Naruto asked as he began shaking in anticipation. Hatsumi pulled a long black cloth out from inside of his cloak.

"I am going to show you how I wore my Hitai-ate, my forehead protector, when I was an active shinobi." Hatsumi then attached Naruto's forehead protector to the black cloth, he then wrapped it a over his head and tied it like a bandanna so it covered his head. Then taking the two long ends left over he wrapped one covering his chin and neck, and the other covering his mouth and nose. Afterward all that was left visible was the area around his eyes.** (A/N: Think stereotypical ninja head covering). **"The value of this is primarily in the area of subterfuge, no one can read your lips, and you can say your Ninjutsu quietly so no one knows what you are performing until it begins. Typically I only wore it this way during spars or missions, otherwise I would tie it around my waist." Naruto's eyes widened as Hatsumi handed him his improved forehead protector. He quickly tried using it as his sensei had showed him, sensing that this was something significant to the man. "Very good Naruto, make sure it covers all but your eyes." Naruto unfastened it and wrapped it around his waist and then bowed once again to Ryu.

"Thank you sensei these are priceless gifts to me." Naruto straightened up and grinned at the man. Ryu nodded to the newly minted ninja, pride gleaming in the retired shinobi's eyes.

"Remember all that I have taught you and you will not only achieve your dream but you will also serve Konoha well." With that Hatsumi bowed to the stunned boy and began to depart. Naruto waved sadly to the man, he would miss having Ryu train him. "Remember Naruto every three days training ground fifteen in the afternoon," he called over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner of a fruit stand. The blonde ninja could not help the smile that graced his features.

Hatsumi couldn't help smiling, 'Heck I like the kid,' he mused. 'Now that he is a Genin maybe I should start working on poisons with the boy...'

(break)

There was a buzz in the air as Naruto anticipated his team selection. His was seated back in his classroom in the Academy with all of the graduated Genin anticipating his name being called in relation to a team and a sensei.

"... Team Seven consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka read. "Your Jounin sensei is Hatake Kakashi." Naruto nodded at this, he was not particularly close with either of his teammates but they seemed like they would be a good combination on paper. Naruto tuned out the rest of the announcements as he wracked his brain for information about his new sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Despite the thought he could come up with nothing, 'I will have to look into it later,' he thought.

Before too long all of the Genin had been called out of the classroom by their respective senseis with the exception of the new Team Seven. Naruto shook his head in displeasure and decided that he wasn't going to waste this time. With that in mind he pulled out a kunai from underneath his cloak and began to work on sticking it to different parts of his body. It was basically an advanced version of the leaf exercise for chakra control that he had been working on. The other two Genin quickly took notice of their teammates behavior.

"Dobe what are you doing?" the arrogant voice of Sasuke broke his concentration. Naruto looked at the boy calmly. At the beginning of the year people had been calling him Dobe because he was a failure from two years before, but they quickly stopped as he had proved he was better than most of the class. Some hadn't stopped and Sasuke happened to be one of them. Naruto had been upset about it for awhile, but eventually realized that Sasuke's attachment to that particular insult simply proved he felt threatened by Naruto.

"Training my chakra control with a variation of the leaf exercise," was his curt reply. That quieted Sasuke down for the time being, Naruto noticed Sakura frowning at him. 'Probably just angry at me for talking to Sasuke without worshiping him,' Naruto thought. The girl was a crazed fan girl that stalked Sasuke incessantly.

Finally almost three hours after the original announcement a white haired man with a green vest on an a mask covering half his face stepped into the classroom. Naruto fought down a growl, it was unprofessional to be this late.

"Team Seven?" he asked deadpan. Sakura answered him.

"Of course we are! Are you our sensei, you are late!" she screamed with an accusatory finger pointed in his direction. Hatake smiled blithely at them before answering.

"Meet me on the roof in five," before disappearing with a poof.

(break)

"Now that you have introduced yourselves I only have one last bit of instruction for you." Team Seven waited in anticipation. "You are not yet Genin officially, tomorrow will be your real Genin Test. Pass and you will officially become ninja fail and you go back to the Academy." Chaos ensued.

"What?" Naruto yelled caught off guard. "We already passed the Exam." Sakura and Sasuke both voiced their agreement.

"The Academy Exam, but this test is harder, two thirds of those who past the Academy Exam will fail this second test." Kakashi broke for a moment to let his team digest that information. "Be at training ground seven tomorrow at 0800 and come prepared for battle. My advice is don't even eat breakfast, you will probably lose it." With that Kakashi disappeared once more in a puff of smoke.

Naruto looked at his teammates for a moment, "I am going to start preparing and you should too," without waiting for a response he jumped to the roof of the next building and away from Sasuke and Sakura.

'I need to find out more about Kakashi and this test so that I can do my best, there is no way I am going back to the Academy after all of the work I have done. I cannot let down Ryu sensei either,' with that in mind Naruto stopped at his apartment to gather some things for training before continuing to training ground fifteen to prepare for Kakashi's test.

**(A/N: Sorry this isn't strictly canon I am too lazy to look it up.)**

**A/N: This scene occurred four months before the Genin Exam.**

"Naruto you have done extremely well with your Academy taijutsu," Hatsumi praised. Naruto preened at the compliment and smiled with his hands behind his head. Hatsumi clapped his hands together, "Now you must begin sparring."

"Awesome! I am going to kick ass!" the blonde shouted throwing a snap kick to demonstrate. Hatsumi frowned.

"Do not forget that humility is the trait of a great shinobi Naruto,". He sobered quickly and bowed apologetically.

"Sorry Ryu sensei," Hatsumi smiled.

"That is alright Naruto no harm done,". 'The boy really is trying,' he thought with pride. "Sparring is important to help you learn how to fight, katas and striking logs is important but not nearly so important as sparring." Naruto nodded as he took this all in.

"When you spar remember to focus on good technique and tactics don't simply jump in plan ahead," Ryu continued. "Be efficient and precise do not simply try to hit someone, hit their throat or another specific target. Use every advantage you can.". Naruto was almost shaking as he attempted to contain his excitement. Hatsumi almost laughed out loud at the sight.

"Naruto I have arranged your first spar for you, it will occur in one hour at training ground ten. Understand that sparring is learning and there is no shame in a loss, just learn from it and work harder to overcome. From now on I want you to constantly seeking new opponents to spar with, in this way you will learn how to overcome any type of enemy.

"I'll do it sensei and I will become the best, that is a promise," Naruto said seriously with his thumb up before a huge grin broke across his face. Hatsumi nodded to him in acknowledgment.

"Now move it to training ground ten for your spar."

(training ground ten)

Upon arrival Naruto found four people spread across the training ground. As his Ryu had taught him he took a moment to analyze his potential opponents.

First was the one he guessed to be the Jounin. He was tall and muscular and wore a strange green track suit and was hammering a log with the most ferocious punches Naruto had ever seen.

Next was a strange long haired boy with pupil-less eyes. He seemed to be practicing some sort of flowing kata. Not far from him was a girl with a Chinese blouse on who was going through an exercise with a katana that looked awesome in his opinion.

Finally there was a carbon copy of the Jounin, wearing the same green track suit. As Naruto was watching the boy stopped punching his training log and slammed a roundhouse into it snapping the remains of the log in half. Naruto's jaw dropped he did not want to ever get hit by one of those kicks.

"Ah it appears we have a visitor my youthful Genin," a voice shouted right next to him. Naruto turned quickly to see the Jounin standing there, he hadn't even seen him move. The man spoke before he could say a thing. "You must be Naruto the ninja that Hatsumi was telling me about. Lee Naruto has come to match his flames of youth against your own to see whose burns brightest!". In a flash the green clad boy was next to the Jounin.

"I shall not lose Gai sensei!" he shouted. Naruto shook his head and remembered what Ryu sensei had said about etiquette. He bowed to Gai.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and I humbly request the honor of a spar," Naruto came out of his bow to see both shinobi smiling widely. Lee stepped forward and stuck out his hand and Naruto shook it with a grin.

"I am Rock Lee, let's spar,". Gai placed his hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Not so fast my cute student introductions, I am Maito Gai and you just met Lee. My other students are Higurashi Tenten," she waved at the blonde which he returned. "And Hyuuga Neji," the other boy simply nodded. Naruto smiled at each of them.

Rock Lee was shaking with excitement so Gai quickly laid out the rules, this would be a taijutsu only spar until someone quit or was unable to continue. Gai placed the two ninja across from one another.

"You may begin,".

Naruto dropped into a basic academy stance and trained his eyes on Lee. The green Genin studied his stance for a moment before rushing forward, Naruto prepared to sidestep his lunge, when Lee disappeared. Naruto was stunned for a moment, before he was blasted into the air by a forceful kick to the bottom of his chin.

"Konoha Senpuu!". Naruto's head was ringing as he pulled himself up from where he had fallen. Rock Lee was facing him with a familiar stance. Naruto shook his head before resuming his ready stance.

Lee started forward again. 'He ducked down at the last second before coming up for the kick,' Naruto realized. As soon as Lee got within three paces Naruto took two quick steps forward and slammed his foot onto the top of Lee's foot and turned his body to slam him in the chest with his shoulder. The effect was impressive Lee hit the ground with a thud onto his back.

Naruto smiled as he lept away, to his surprise Lee was on his feet in a flash a huge smile on his face.

"Your flames of youth burn brightly to counter that move so quickly Naruto, but it would be foolish to believe you have won,". With that Lee dashed forward and began to throw a myriad of punches and kicks. Naruto kept his guard up doing his best to fend off Lee's ferocious attack. Finally, after a minute, Lee hammered his right hand into Naruto's jaw and sent him flying. He skidded to a stop his ears ringing and unable to stand, after a moment Gai appeared above him.

"Ryu Hatsumi said I should tell you 'You learn the most by sparring with stronger opponents,'" Gai said with a scary grin.

Naruto groaned as he laid on the ground. 'I've got a lot of work to do... Maybe I should see if Tenten will teach me some sword forms,' he thought.

(fin)

**A/N: Alright Chapter two complete, what do you think. **

**A couple comments. First about Mizuki, I'll mention what happened with him later, suffice to say Naruto didn't fail and therefore didn't become part of the plan, I will have him learn Kage Bunshin a little later, don't fear!**

**Also what do people think about Naruto getting Hatsumi's summoning contract rather than Toads?**

**Next Chapter: Kakashi's Test, D-Ranks, Ryu Hatsumi training.**


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